Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 1st September, 2011

Today's weather;

A morning back home on Samui again! A fairly cloudy sky is ours this morning though with a current temp at 7am of 26.9C Later today I'm off to Koh Phangan later this afternoon though in order to start a brand new PADI IDC tomorrow.

Flying over Koh Lanta, between Bali and Phuket, one of the places I teach at in Thailand

Yesterday saw a sunny and fairly warm day without rain around Samui. Max temp reached 30.3C

Camille

Goodbye to August 2011

Goodbye to August 2011

It's that time of the month again. Time to say goodbye to what turned out to be a busy month for me. Early on this month I was still in South Korea and now, the last day I find myself in Indonesia. My dive job really gets me around this year, maybe time for a career change for yourselves, my dear readers?

The Gili Air taxi

The weather seemed very typical for August, plenty of hot and sunny days with a few nights of rainy parts. Towards the end of the month there were also some typical monsoon floods around Thailand and the South East Asian region but the Samui archipelago always seems to duck out underneath from that during August.

It pays off to visit Samui during August!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to September, which will find me on Koh Phangan at the start of the month and most likely will se me for the remainder of the month on Koh Samui. See you there!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 31st August, 2011

Today's weather;

Although Samui is slightly cloudy, the sun is about to warm up and burn a hole in said clouds and it looks like a very warm ahead, just like yesterday. Current temp at 7am is 26.6C

Yesterday started out slightly cloudy around Samui but the sun evaporated the clouds and it eas very hot. Max temp reached 34.3C

The Bali bombing memorial in Jalan Legian, every night it's a meeting point for many people

This morning I find myself in Kuta on Bali, en route to Thailand again after having completed an IDC on Gili Air. Bali is cloudy but dry and warm. All updates for next month should be coming from Thailand again.

Camill

Diamond Tony's Restaurant at 85th Floor of Taipei 101, Taiwan

We been invited by a friend from Taiwan to the Diamond Tony's Restaurant at 85th Floor of Taipei 101 (N25.03313 E121.56510) for dinner on our 4th day of Taiwan trip. I believe reservation is needed if you intend to dine in.

Diamond Tony's Restaurant at Taipei 101

The environment was perfect with soft music and especially the night view of Taipei City. But we were not in the luck that night because of the whole city was covered by mist...

I was amazed by the washroom design! You can even enjoy the city night view while you doing your business! :)

After about 30 minutes after our ordered, the first dish served on our table...it was the mushroom soup with bread.

Mushroom Soup with Bread

I was surprised with the portion of the bread! Anyway, the soup was rich and good with the bread.



After we finished chatting for about 15 minutes, the second course served...Bacon with vegetables.

Third course...(apologies! I forgot the name of the dish...some kind of abalone...)

Fourth course...The Sausage.

And here was the main course...The Beef.

Main course - Beef.  

(Apologies for the blur photo)

The last was the dessert...Chocolate cake.

The Chocolate cake

We were satisfied with the meals over here. Some of the dishes were just average, but the environment is the main attraction of the restaurant! (Too bad we saw nothing that night...)

Anyway, we were thankful for the dinner which provided by a friend, appreciated. We visited the Shilin night market again after the overloaded dinner! :)



Apologies for the blur and yellowish photos above.

Taipei 101 of Taiwan

Related post :-
*  My Taiwan Trip on May, 2011

Location map of Taipei 101, Taiwan

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Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 30th August, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is going strong on the weather front, it's sunny this morning, hardly any wind and it looks like it's going to be a warm day. Current temp at 7am is 26.7C

Tomorrow evening I'll be back home again, just for a night before I take off for Koh Phangan again.

Yesterday was a rather nice day with sunshine and just a tiny bit of rain on some parts of Samui island. Max temp reached 31.9C

Morning glory on Gili Air

Gili Air's weather remains lovely and consistently good. Tomorrow will be Idul Fitri the official end of the Ramadan.

Yesterday I completed the current PADI IDC and later today I'll be off to Bali for a night with an afternoon flight out to Thailand!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 29th August, 2011

Today's weather;

On Koh Samui there's surprisingly little wind, no rain and hardly any clouds this morning. Surprisingly so, considering the weather and rain in other parts of Thailand. Current temp at 7am is 26C

Yesterday saw a little bit of rain around Samui but all in all it was a fairly nice day. Max temp reached 28.3C

A blooming tree on Gili Air

The weather on Gili Air is still the same, warm and sunny during the day with nice and cooler nights. Today is the last day of Ramadan, and everybody is excited about that on this predominantly Muslim island.

Camille

How To Get To The Buildings Along Gil Puyat From MRT Buendia 2

This is the second part of our topic on how to commute to the buildings located along Gil Puyat Avenue from EDSA where MRT Buendia Station is located to Chino Roces Avenue. Gil Puyat Avenue is formerly known as Buendia Avenue and Chino Roces Avenue is formerly known as Pasong Tamo. In this article, the buildings to the left side of Gil Puyat are our subjects. The buildings to the right are given directions in the first part of this topic, you can get direction to the location of those buildings in the first article, go to How To Get To The Buildings Along Gil Puyat From MRT Buendia.

From left: Pacific Star, BPI Buendia Center and Petron Mega Plaza

Check if your building destination is listed below then patiently read this direction guide to locate the building and get the commuting direction from MRT Buendia Staion. For complete guide please refer to the building maps at the bottom of this article. Some buildings have photos which you can also view below this post.

ACT Tower Aegis People Support Bank of Commerce Buendia Pasong Tamo Branch BPI Buendia Center Burgundy Corporate Tower Country Space 1 DBP Building Elizabeth Place Exportbank Plaza GF & Partners Building Grand Soho Makati Le Metropole Le Triomphe McDonalds Gil Puyat Chino Roces Medicard Lifestyle Center Mercury Drug Branch

Metrobank Plaza Mondragon House One Central One Pacific Place Show Room Pacific Star Petron Mega Plaza Planters Bank RCBC Plaza Salcedo Park Twin Towers STI College Telecom Plaza The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints The World Centre Trident Gil Puyat Tropical Hut Humberger Gil Puyat West of Ayala

How to get to a building along the left side of Gil Puyat Avenue from MRT Buendia Station?

From the MRT turnstile (exit machine), go left and then go right to take the footbridge and stairs that goes to Gil Puyat Avenue. Walk across Gil Puyat Avenue under Gil Puyat-EDSA flyover. There's a terminal of jeepney with "Bel-Air Washington Buendia MRT" wordings in both sides of the body and "Washington" sign in its front near the entrance of McDonald's branch located at the ground floor of SM CyberTwo, the first office building from EDSA next to Shell Gasoline Station. Ride one of these jeepneys. Pay Minimum.

Two men crossing Gil Puyat from Metrobank Plaza to CybertOne

Get off the jeep at Paseo de Roxas, the first intersection with traffic lights from EDSA if your destination is Medicard Lifestyle Center and Metrobank Plaza. Walk across Gil Puyat to get to the other corner where Medicard Lifestyle Center is located at the left corner of Gil Puyat and Paseo de Roxas. Metrobank Plaza is located at the middle of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue, the next main intersection (with traffic lights). It's just a little bit walk from Medicard Lifestyle Center. If you are a typical Filipino who doesn't follow traffic law, you can get off the jeep at SM CyberOne, the building to the right opposite Metrobank Plaza, then like the two men in this photo, take the risk of crossing Gil Puyat and tread on the well-landscaped center island.

Next main intersection is Makati Avenue. Buildings near the corner are: DBP or Development Bank of the Philippines, located at the first left corner of Gil Puyat and Makati Avenue. Pacific Star, located at the second left corner of Gil Puyat and Makati Avenue. BPI Buendia Center, next to Pacific Star. Petron Mega Plaza, third building from Pacific Star. The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, next to Petron Mega Plaza. Get off the jeep at Makati Avenue and just walk towards those buildings. They're just stone's throw away from where you would alight.

Next to The Church of Christ is a vacant lot and next to it is Salcedo Park Twin Towers, but it's more nearer to the next intersection which is Nicanor Garcia. There's a lot of pedestrians getting off the jeep infront of Ajinomoto Building, the building located to the right of Gil Puyat exactly opposite Salcedo Park Twin Towers, and they just cross the road right there as if it's legal to do it. Can't blame them, the center island don't have any barrier at all and it's quite fast to just walk across in that part of the road. It's your call, but if it's you're first time here, just follow the law and use pedestrian crossing.

Get off the jeep at Nicanor Garcia Street. And follow this guide. Use the pedestrian crossing to get to the left side of Gil Puyat Avenue. Grand Soho Makati is just a few meters from pedestrian crossing. It's next to vacant lot that followed Salcedo Park Twin Towers. Next to Grand Soho is Country Space and as you step the sidewalk of left side of Gil Puyat from corner of Nicanor Garcia, ACT Tower is in the front, facing you.

Next to ACT Tower is a parking lot. GF & Partners is next to the parking area, and a vacant lot followed it.

Next corner is Malugay Street. Get off the jeepney at Malugay Street. Walk across the road to get to the other corner. Road name opposite Malugay Street left of Gil Puyat is different, it is called Tordesillas Street. So Tordesillas is the one to the left of Gil Puyat while Malugay is to the right. Go left as soon as you crossed from Malugay. The World Centre is the tall building next to the parking lot that followed GF Partners. Next to The World Centre is Show Room of One Pacific Place, then Elizabeth Place and at the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Tordesillas Street is an under construction building.

Located at the second left corner of Tordesillas and Gil Puyat is Le Metropole, followed by Mondragon House. Third building from the second corner of Tordesillas and Gil Puyat is Le Triomphe and next to it is Telecom Plaza also known as Eastern Telecom Plaza. The building to the right of Gil Puyat Avenue opposite Telecom Plaza is PAG-IBIG Fund. The barriers or metal fence in front of these two building have openings, and I noticed lots of pedestrians crossing this part of Gil Puyat Avenue from one side to another. Next to Eastern Telecom is Plantersbank, followed by Trident. Under construction One Central is next to Trident. Located at the first left corner of Ayala Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue is RCBC Plaza. By law, you are requred to get off the jeep near Ayala Avenue, if you're going to Plantersbank, Trident, One Central. But if you're like those people who keep on crossing streets in wrong places, then you can get off at PAG-IBIG and cross the road right there. Eastern Telecom is nearer to Malugay than Ayala Avenue.

Located opposite RCBC Plaza, at the second left corner of Ayala Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue is Aegis People Support. Just get off the jeep near corner Ayala Avenue and walk across the road to get to this building, there's a large sign that read Aegis People Support above the building. You also must get off the jeep at Ayala Avenue if you're going to the Mercury Drug and Tropical Hut branches located next to Aegis People Support, respectively.

Last intersection along Gil Puyat Avenue is Chino Roces Avenue formerly known as Pasong Tamo. The buildings you can walk to from the corner of Chino Roces Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue are the following: Burgundy Corporate Tower, West of Ayala, STI College, Bank of Commerce, McDonald's Gil Puyat Roces and Export Bank Plaza. These buildings lined up after Tropical Hut in that order. But an under construction building owned by Greenfield Development Corporation comes first before Burgundy Corporate Tower. Walk across Gil Puyat Avenue to get to the other corner of Chino Roces. Go left to proceed to Burgundy and West of Ayala. They are tall buildings with building names on their facades. McDonald's is just across the corner. Bank of Commerce is next to West of Ayala and Export Bank Plaza is the skyscrpaer located at the second left corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Chino Roces Avenue.

DBP Building

BPI Buendia Center

Petron Mega Plaza

Salcedo Park

ACT Tower

Gil Puyat Avenue with its metal fence

Pedestrians wrongfully crossing Gil Puyat Avenue

Discover few simple ways not to miss new and upcoming articles on commuting and driving directions to lots of places in Metro Manila. Click HERE

Building Map from Paseo de Roxas to Makati Avenue. Click the red pin to see building name.




Building Map from Makati Avenue to Ayala Avenue. Click each marker or red pin to see building name.




Building Map from Ayala Avenue to Chino Roces aka Pasong Tamo. Click each marker or pin to see building name.

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 28th August, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is 'enjoying' a very cloudy sky this morning with very strong winds. Today and tomorrow the wind should be at it strongest, by Tuesday everything should start to relax again. I would expect a bit of rain today but probably not as much as in other parts of Thailand. Current temp at 7am is 25.2C

Yesterday saw a very cloudy day around Samui with a little bit of rain and a 3 hour power cut in the Plai Laem/Bang Rak area. Max temp only reached 27.7C

Gili Air from a dive boat

The weather on Gili Air remains pretty much unchanged, nice sunny days with some wind bursts during the afternoon and cooler evenings and nights, near perfect!

Camille

Phuket Museums

What? There are museums in Phuket? Surely Phuket is a beach resort island.. what could possibly be worth putting in a museum? Well, guess what... Phuket has a long and interesting history. Tourism really only started about 25 years ago and of course now tourism has a massive influence on Phuket and tourism is the most important source of income to Phuket. Thousands of people live in Phuket because of tourism. Thai people come from all over the country to find work here, and of course many foreigners too (like me!) come here to work or retire.



There have been large changes even in the 11 years that I have been here - mostly in terms of infrastructure and the availability of such delights as shopping malls and huge DIY/Home Decor stores. The old history and culture can be a little hard to find under the new layers of modernity, but it's there. Phuket is a big island and there are large areas of quiet farmland covered in rubber plantations or pineapple groves or shrimp farms. You can't see this if you stay at the main beach areas, but if you hire a car and drive around, you suddenly see the old Phuket. Of course people were here before tourists came! Phuket was actually quite rich due to the tin mining industry and rubber industry and fishing and coconuts/palm oil/pineapples/shrimps and the fact that Phuket was an important port. Enough on the history for now... This blog touches on the old side of Phuket quite often. Over the years I have blogged about several museums where people can learn more about Phuket's history.



Phuket Mining Museum







Tin mining played a huge role in Phuket's history and this museum has loads of information and great dioramas relating to the tin mining era as well as geological information and great mock street scenes representing old Phuket. We've been a couple of times, our kids love it, I think it' very well done and entry is cheap - only disadvantage is the location up a hardly-known back road between the Loch Palm golf club and the British international school.



More Information: Phuket Tin Mining Museum



The tin mining industry was based around the Kathu area of Phuket between Phuket Town and Patong. For the last few years, Kathu has had a 3 day street fair with lots of costumes and also tin mining demonstrations.



See: Kathu Street Fair 2011







Thalang National Museum



The Thalang National Museum of Phuket opened in and provides a long historical record of the people of Phuket ranging from indigenous cultures up to the modern era. There's a big section devoted to Phuket's famous Heroines who rallied the people to beat off a Burmese invasion in 1785, an event that is remembered by a festival every March (the Phuket Heroines Festival). This museum is easy enough to find, heading north towards the airport and turn right at the Heroines Monument, the museum is just 100m along the road.



More Information: Thalang National Museum Phuket







(above) - the Phuket Heroines Monument is seen by most tourists coming to Phuket, as it's on the main road from the airport south to most of the beach areas.



Thai Hua School Museum



A really interesting (for me!) and well looked after museum, housed in the old Thai Hua School in old Phuket Town. Thai Hua was (and still is) a Chinese-Thai school, with Chinese being taught as a major second language. This was very important 100 years ago with all the Chinese people coming to Phuket. And these days, probably just as important in terms of SE Asia business. The museum is full of school relics, old photos .. I need to go again sometime. Entry used to be free, now it's 200 Baht. Easy to find on Krabi road, just half a block west of Thalang Road in old town.



More Information: Thai Hua School Museum







Chinpracha House



And just another block west of Thai Hua you find a couple of old mansions. One of these, called Chinpracha House is also a museum. The owner still lives there (upstairs) but downstairs is a wonderful old house full of photos, old furniture, I love the tiles too. Must go back again and write a full blog page about it. We visited last year as part of a tour organised by Phuket Heritage Trails.



More Information: Phuket Heritage Trails tour including Chinpracha House







(above) old family photos at Chinpracha House in Phuket Town.



Phuket Post Office Museum



Just to the east of old Phuket Town is the central post office. There is a new building and next door is the old Phuket post office which houses a small museum that would probably be only of interest to stamp collectors or post office workers! Nevertheless, entry is free and if you are passing by, why not have a look?!



More Information: Phuket Post Office Museum



More Museums in Phuket



There are some oddities in Phuket which I have not blogged yet such as the well-known seashell museum near Rawai Beach, which is full of .. seashells. And in Phuket Town, at least in the old town, just walking around can feel like a museum. Check out old hotels like the On On Hotel or the Thavorn (which has a room full of junk downstairs, which they call a museum) - or the old shops on Thalang Road. Just step into the Herb shop and breathe deeply. Parts of the old town, despite some modern additions, are like a living museum.











(above) The On On Hotel and the Herb shop on Thalang Road (Phuket Town)



Phuket Festivals



Some of the festivals in Phuket are based on old traditions. I guarantee that if you head to a shrine during the Phuket Vegetarian festival you'll feel a sense of timelessness. The chanting, the incense, the music, the clothes.. Is this 2011?







(above) Lighting candles at Kathu shrine during the vegetarian festival.



Phuket has way more history and culture than is obvious on the surface. A holiday at the beach in Phuket is nice, but I do recommend a little exploration, and the museums are a good place to start if anyone wants to do more than just eat and get sunburned... also something to do on a rainy day!



Phuket Museums - Google Maps




View Phuket Museums in a larger map

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 27th August, 2011

Today's weather;

Koh Samui is enjoying a nice morning, even better than yesterday, there's a bit of wind but it doesn't look like rain but rather a bit of sunshine. current temp at 7am is 25C This in sharp contrast to the Andaman side, where torrential rains caused a flew floods.

The forecast looks like the wind will peak in the Gulf on Sunday and Monday and than resume more or less to normal.

Yesterday saw a nice day around Samui, however with some relatively strong wind. All ferries were running as usual though. Max temp reached 30C

One of the boats participating in Sail Indonesia in front of Gili Air during all of last week

The weather on Gili Air keeps going on strong, blue skies once more this morning and it looks like another warm day!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 26th August, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is under the spell of a tropical thunderstorm, just like the rest of Thailand. Phuket and Khao Lak have some serious floods, which luckily enough, our island has no problems with so far.

Currently there are strong winds and big waves around the island and rain is in the air. Current temp at 7am is 26,7C

Yesterday saw plenty of rain around Samui accompanied by strong wind. Max temp reached around 30C

This morning Gili Air has a blue sky, same spot as yesterday

Weather conditions are mint this morning around Gili Air, a blue sky and almost no wind. Yesterday saw a blue sky shape up rather quickly after a cloudy start with a lovely cool evening.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 25th August, 2011

Today's weather;

Online at last, all day long there was an internet problem here on Gili Air, until a few moments ago.

Samui is partly cloudy but warm with a current temp at 4pm of 31.4C, there are strong winds and the ocean has waves.

Yesterday was warm but windy and there was a tiny bit of rain at some parts of Samui. max temp reached 32.7C

Cloud cover this morning on Gili Air in Indonesia

Gili Air had some serious clouds this morning but during the day they dissolved and it became hot once more. The afternoons here have strong winds though.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 24th August, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui has a few clouds this morning but it looks like it might be sunny later today. Current temp at 7am is 26.5C

Yesterday saw a very hot morning around Samui with plenty of sunshine, somewhere later during the day some parts of the island had some rain. Max temp reached 32.3C

Another Gili Air sunset

Gili Air is blasting away with great weather, the mornings have blue skies but during the afternoons some strong winds show up and occasionally some dark clouds hover over the island, so far no rain though. During the daytime it's warm but the evenings are nice and cool!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 23rd August, 2011

Today's weather;

A slight overcast it is for Samui this morning. Current temp at 7am is 26.4C

Yesterday saw a dry day again on Samui with a max temp of 33.7C

The forecast for after next weekend is not looking very well, lots of wind and most likely rain to go with it.

Sunset on Gili Air

Gili Air gearing up for a hot day, there's not a single cloud in the air this morning. Yesterday was also very hot although in the evening some clouds showed up but it stayed very dry!

The IDC kicked off successfully here a few days ago.

Camille

Dessert Shop at Jiufen Old Street, Taiwan

We had a rest at this Dessert Shop after we back to Jiufen Old Street. The shop was just located on the right of the Old Street entrance.

The choices of Taiwan Authentic Dessert

There were many choices and we just took the signature dessert of the shop. That was the yam ball, bean curd and syrup flavored with ginger. (TWD40 each)

I ordered the cold type to ease the thirst from the climbing up and down...:)

The lady boss preparing our desserts

The lady boss was nice and friendly and the shop was simple and clean. The dessert served on our table less than 10 minutes...

The Taiwan dessert

The dessert was nice and satisfied, the tasty yam balls was soft same as others...

There were many stalls selling the same dessert along the street and we cannot judge which is the best...

I cannot comment more on it because this was the Only shop we tasted.

Overall, all of us satisfied! After the dessert we will going to Taipei and leave this beautiful and peaceful small town. Well, I like this small town and I will be back!

The cute little girl running around when we had our dessert...she was really Cute!

Related post :-
*  My Taiwan Trip on May, 2011

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 22nd August, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui's sky has a few clouds this morning but the sun is fighting it's way through! Current temp at 7am is 24.3C

Yesterday saw a lovely, warm and dry around Samui, until somewhere during the night when it must have poured down. Max temp reached 33.5C

Gili Air this morning, plenty of sailing yachts because of Sail Indonesia which is in progress, apparently a 100 or so boats will visit Gili Air soon

Gili Air has a beautiful blue sky this morning. Yesterday saw a lovely day but it's nice and not bloody hot during the daytime with some really nice cooler evenings and nights.

Camille

Por Tor Festival (Hungry Ghost Festival)

Phuket has a lot more culture and history than most people realise. This blog has featured many festivals, some are well known throughout Thailand like Songkran or Loy Kratong. And then you have the amazing Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which is celebrated in a few other areas but is centered in Phuket. The vegetarian festival is of Chinese origin. The population of Phuket is about 30% of Thai-Chinese ancestry. Many Chinese came to Phuket in the 19th and early 20th century to set up business or work in the booming tin mining industry, and Chinese beliefs came with them.



The Por Tor festival is held during the 7th Chinese lunar month, so the exact date changes each year. I had never checked out this festival before so was glad of the chance to make a little tour in Phuket Town with Chaya from Phuket Heritage Trails to see some of the festival. We arranged a meeting on Wednesday evening (17th August) in town with several other local residents, bloggers and website owners. After a drink at the very nice Siam Indigo bar in the heart of Old Phuket Town, we headed to the main market on Ranong Road. Unfortunately .. even the local experts sometimes don't know everything.. it turned out that the main event at the market had been the night before! So some of us arranged to meet Chaya again on Friday evening to visit the Por Tor Kong shrine which is the center of the festival. I consoled myself on Wednesday with some street photos ...











Friday evening was great. After being in Phuket more than 11 years, it's nice to find something new. The Por Tor festival is centered around a shrine called Por Tor Kong, it's not far from the big Bang Neow shrine just south of the old town on Phuket Road. The belief is that during the 7th lunar month, the ghosts of ancestors can pass back into their previous earthly realm and visit their former homes. Offerings of food are made and left for the hungry ghosts. Prayers are said to give thanks for the work done by the ancestors in the past. The most common offering is a red turtle cake. The red colour symbolises good luck and the turtle symbolises long life. I went into town with my family, and we met Chaya at the well known Keng Tin bakery where Chinese cakes like mooncakes are made year round. During the Por Tor festival they specialise in making giant red turtles to be used as offerings in the Por Tor Kong shrine which is just a few minutes walk from Keng Tin.















(above) inside Keng Tin, red turtles being made. The local name for these cakes is "Ang Ku". They can be made of flour, or more commonly nowadays from sticky rice, then decorated with sugar coatings and lots of red dye. Messages are written on the turtles such as Good Luck, and they may also bear people's names. The Keng Tin shop has been a family business in Phuket for 4 generations and is an important part of the local community - especially at this time of year! The price to buy one of the biggest turtles - about 2500 Baht!



From the Keng Tin shop, it was a short walk to find Por Tor Kong shrine. Again, a place I had never been to, never even knew it was there! It's down a small side road - one of many small side roads that I have never explored. Not enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week to explore it all! Many houses on the street nearby were also selling Ang Ku or other foods, along with stalls selling clothes, toys and the usual assortment of cr*p that makes your kids say "Oh pleeeaaase Daddy, I want one!". It was rather more crowded that I expected. We took our small turtle to the shrine where it joined many more...







It's a small shrine and it was busy. Candles and incense everywhere. My wife headed inside to join the procession of people heading to the far side of the altar to say a prayer to the god Por Tor Kong who is responsible for releasing (and feeding!) the ghosts. Sometimes as a tourist (and yes, even after living here for this long, do feel like a tourist sometimes!) you feel a bit out of place. In a small shrine filled with people saying prayers, filled with people who have different traditions and beliefs, I just try to keep out of the way (and take photos) - at the same time, it's quite a buzz to just be there.











The festival seems to have changed a bit over the years. Chaya told us that when she was a kid, it was considered bad luck to be outdoors after dark. I have read on websites that children should not be outside after 6pm. Well, the streets around the Por Tor Kong shrine were filled with kids! Our daughter started chatting to a local girl about the same age as her, who explained to her about the festival and helped her burn the paper money in the furnace. The money which I sometimes see referred to as "hell money" is for the ancestors/ghosts.











Having taken one turtle to the shrine as an offering, our kids were each given a small red turtle to take home. I am not quite sure if we were meant to eat these or leave them out for the hungry ghosts.. we chose the latter option. We bought plenty of food from the street stalls near the shrine - street snacks can often be enough for dinner! The festival carries on for another week, so we might head into town again one evening to see more. And now I know about this festival, it will be on the calendar for next year... as far as I can tell from looking at Chinese calendars, the Por Tor festival will start about August 31st 2012. Many thanks again to Chaya from Phuket Heritage Trails - if you want to know about the culture and history of Phuket - contact her!



Map of Phuket Town showing location of Por Tor Kong shrine and Keng Tin :




View Por Tor Festival in a larger map



Coming up soon... Phuket Vegetarian Festival, 26th September - 6th October.